| Beast Wrestler | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Developer(s) | Telenet Japan |
| Publisher(s) | |
| Composer(s) | Shinobu Ogawa Takaharu Umezu |
| Platform(s) | Mega Drive |
| Release | |
| Genre(s) | Fighting |
| Mode(s) | Single-player, multiplayer |
Beast Wrestler is a 1991 fighting game published for the Mega Drive in Japan and North America. The game's cover art was created by Yasushi Nirasawa, in his position as a model-builder for Hobby Japan magazine.
Gameplay
Beast Wrestler is a wrestling beat 'em up video game containing two modes: Match and Tournament. Match is a single-round that can be played with two human players or one player and a computer opponent, whereas Tournament has multiple rounds and requires the player to showdown with every beast in the game.
Reception
Reception| Publication | Score |
|---|---|
| Aktueller Software Markt | 4/12 |
| Beep! MegaDrive | 4.75/10 |
| Computer and Video Games | 26/100 |
| Famitsu | 20/40 |
| Games-X |   |
| Joystick | 60% |
| Console XS | 30/100 |
| Entertainment Weekly | C+ |
| Mega | 29% |
| MegaTech | 45% |
| Sega Pro | 30/100 |
The presentation, although generally the most-well received aspect of Beast Wrestler, garnered a mixed response. Joystick called it the best part.
Paul Rand of Computer and Video Games found the premise of monsters in a wrestling game interesting, but strongly dismissed its gameplay as "dull, simplistic and annoying in equal parts", heavily attributed to unresponsive controls. He also criticized the unsuitable music and visuals. Although appreciating the monsters' design, he was critical of the sprites' animation, shadows, their identical sizes, and flickering. Mega also found it a "tedious" experience with very few attacks to experiment with. He disliked the graphics, such as the "boring empty ring-type arena thingy" and choppy animation.
Entertainment Weekly's Bob Strauss also called the gameplay tedious, despite its "thumb-busting array of holds and throws". He praised the presentation, such as the "electrified, three-dimensional playing field" and "appropriately gruesome creatures (which look like something out of a David Cronenberg movie)", although also joked, "When the monsters tangle it up in the ring, you're reminded of those intricate mating rituals Marlin Perkins used to narrate on Wild Kingdom."
Notes
- Japanese: ビースト・ウォリアーズ, "Beast Warriors"
References
- "CES Special Report Genesis & SNES Games for 1992" (PDF). GamePro. April 1992. p. 20. Retrieved October 13, 2024.
- "Software List (Released by Soft Licensees)". セガ 製品情報サイト (in Japanese). Sega. Retrieved May 15, 2023.
- Beast Wrestler at Project 2612
- Beast Wrestler at RF Generation
- Nirasawa, Yasushi (Dec 28, 1992). Creature Core. Hobby Japan. p. 56. ISBN 4-938461-76-5.
- ^ "Game: Beast Warriors". Games-X. No. 34. December 1991. p. 22. Retrieved January 15, 2022.
- "Naturkatastrophen". Aktueller Software Markt (in German). March 1992. p. 119. Retrieved January 15, 2022.
- "ビースト・ウォリアーズ". Beep! Mega Drive (in Japanese). November 1991. p. 35. Retrieved January 15, 2022.
- ^ Rand, Paul (February 1992). "Beast Warriors". Computer and Video Games. No. 123. p. 87. Retrieved January 15, 2022.
- "ビースト・ウォリアーズ". Famitsu (in Japanese). No. 153. November 1991. p. 39. Retrieved January 15, 2022.
- ^ Trazom (January 1992). "Beast Warriors". Joystick (in French). No. 23. p. 141. Retrieved January 15, 2022.
- "Beast Warriors". Console XS. No. 1. June 1992. p. 127. Retrieved January 15, 2022.
- ^ Strauss, Bob (June 12, 1992). "Beast Wrestler". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved December 18, 2021.
- ^ "One-on-One Beat-'em-Ups". Mega. No. 15. December 1993. pp. 76–77. Retrieved January 15, 2022.
- Mark; Paul (February 1992). "Beast Warriors". MegaTech. No. 2. pp. 52–53. Retrieved January 15, 2022.
- Ellis, Les (February 1992). "Beast Warriors". Sega Pro. No. 4. p. 38. Retrieved January 15, 2022.